Motor driven ice vehicle

ABSTRACT

A vehicle body, such as that of a boat, with laterally spaced rearwardly mounted runners, and first pivot means mounting said runners for limited travel about the axis of said pivot, and substantially transverse to the direction of travel, a forward mounted ski or runner with second pivot means mounting said ski or runner, for arcuate travel about the axis of said second pivot means to steer the vehicle: a bracket assembly secured to the rear of the vehicle by and including laterally spaced parallel, opposed channels, a propulsion unit, having a motor and drive wheel mounted upon a frame, said frame carrying spaced, parallel slide members to be received in said channel members to resist lateral or forward and rearward movement of the mounting assembly, but to afford up and down sliding travel in said channels to accomodate the propulsion unit to irregularities in the surface over which the vehicle is driven, with means attached to said frame engageable with further means secured to the rear portion of the boat to establish a limit for the downward travel of said unit.

United States Patent Taylor 1 June 13, 1972 [54] MOTOR DRIVEN ICEVEHICLE Primary ExaminerLeo Friaglia [72] Inventor: Frederick A. Taylor,32548 Riverpoint, Attorney-Allan Murray New Baltimore, Mich. 48047ABSTRACT r 22 El d: M 19 1970 1 1e ay A vehicle body, such as that of aboat, with laterally spaced [21] App]. No.: 38,791 rearwardly mountedrunners, and first pivot means mounting said runners for limited travelabout the axis of said pivot, and [52] U s Cl 180/6 R 115/1 Rsubstantially transverse to the direction of travel, a forward [51] In..Cl B! 27/02 mounted Ski or runner with Second pivot means mounting Said[58] Fieid 1 15/1 ski or runner, for arcuate travel about the axis ofsaid second l pivot means to steer the vehicle: a bracket assemblysecured [56] References Cited to the rear of the vehicle by andincluding laterally spaced parallel, opposed channels, a propulsionunit, having a motor UNITED STATES PATENTS and drive wheel mounted upona frame, said frame carrying spaced, parallel slide members to bereceived in said channel 1 filer: ..l/6 members to resist lateral orforward and rearward movement 41191 1 F 2; of the mounting assembly, butto afford up and down sliding 3 l 80442 4/1965 P use travel in saidchannels to accomodate the propulsion unit to ir- 3l90255 6H9 3:2? /1regularities in the surface over which the vehicle is driven, a v withmeans attached to said frame engageable with further FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS means secured to the rear portion of the boat to establisha 1 3 l 163 5/1902 G /6 limit for the downward travel of said unit.

, ermany 2 Claims, 13 Drawing Eigures MOTOR DRIVEN ICE VEHICLE CROSSREFERENCES FIELD OF INVENTION The invention lies in the provision of afloating" mount affording up and down sliding travel of the entirepropulsion unit and a pivotal mounting of the rearward runners, which incombination accommodate the vehicle to any substantial irregularities inthe surface over which the vehicle is traveling, and tends to keep theforwardly mounted steering support means in steering engagement withsaid surface.

Experience has shown that without the provision of a propulsion unitmounting which affords said up and down travel, there is a very strongtendency of the boat to react by bouncing and leaping when the drivewheel encounters irregularities. A rigidly mounted drive assembly would,of course, carry the rear end of the boat upwardly and downwardly toconform to these irregularities. It has also been determined that withrigidly mounted rear runners, there is a tendency of the forward end ofthe boat to rise when the rear runners encounter some rough surfaces,which reduces steerability of the boat because the forward supportfrequently is not in engagement with the ice. This fault is corrected bymounting the rear runners so that they may pivot individually on anapproximately horizontal axis transverse to the direction of travel,whereby each rear runner accommodates itself individually toirregularities encountered in the ice surface which reduces any forcestoward the front of the boat which would cause the front runner tobounce and lose contact with the ice.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART There is enclosed herewith the requireddisclosure of prior art discovered in the course of a preliminarysearch, some of which provide for a floating mount with reciprocable upand down travel, but none of which discloses an ice vehicle with a rearmounted outboard floatable drive with independently pivotal rear runnersand an independent forward steering runner. It is believed thatinvention resides in the provision of a readily detachable mountingbracket to be secured to the rear end of the vehicle body and thereadily removable propulsion unit receivable in said mounting bracketfor said reciprocable up and down travel therein, and that further,invention lies in the combination of said floating drive with theindependently pivotally mounted rearward runners.

An object of the invention is to provide a readily removableapproximately vertically reciprocable propulsion unit to reduce thevehicle reaction to irregularities in the surface traveled upon, and toprovide independent suspension for laterally spaced rear runners, whichfurther contribute to reducing reaction of the vehicle body to thesurface over which the body travels.

This and various other objects are attained by the invention hereinafterdisclosed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a boat utilizing the pivotal runnermounting and the slidably reciprocable drive assembly mounting.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view taken in the direction of line 22 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view taken in the direction of line 3-3 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view on a larger scale of a pivotally mounted rear runnertaken in the direction of line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view on a still larger scale taken in the direction of line5-5 of FIG. 4 to illustrate the pivotal mounting of the said runner.

FIG. 6 is a view on a larger scale taken in the direction of line 6--6of FIG. 4 to illustrate a bolt and arcuate slot arrangement whichaffords pivotal travel about the axis of said pivot.

FIG. 7 is a partial horizontal sectional view taken in the direction ofline 7--7 of FIG. 1 to illustrate the slidable drive assembly mounting.

FIG. 8 is an approximately vertical, sectional, partial view to furtherillustrate said slidable mounting taken in the direction of line 8-8 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a vertical, partial, sectional view taken in the direction ofline 9-9 of FIG. 8 and still further illustrating said slidable driveassembly mounting.

FIG. 10 is a partial, vertical, elevational view taken in the directionof line 10-10 of FIG. 9 to illustrate an adjustment slot, the purpose ofwhich is further explained hereinafter.

FIG. 11 is a horizontal, partial sectional view taken in the directionof line 11-11 of FIG. 1 to illustrate the construction of the forwardmounted steering ski.

FIG. 12 is a partial, vertical, sectional view taken in the direction ofline 1212 of FIG. 1 to further illustrate said steering ski as well as acable and pulley steering control.

FIG. 13 is a partial, sectional, elevational view taken in the directionof line 13--13 of FIG. 1 further illustrating the pivotal mounting ofsaid steering ski.

HULL AND STEERING APPARATUS In these views reference numeral 1designates generally a vehicle body, which may be adapted from aconventional boat hull. As illustrated, said vehicle body has a bottomwall 2, a side wall 3, and an opposite side wall 4, a rear wall 5, and afront wall 6. A deck 7 may be provided, and with steering apparatus of atype to be disclosed, it is desirable to have a steering wheel 8,tfi'hinally mounted upon a steering column 9 which journals in a bearing10 and at its lower end carries a pulley member 15. A cable 16 issecured to the member 15 in a conventional manner and extends therefromthrough pulleys 17, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 13. Holes 1.8 may be formedin the bottom wall 2, and may further be provided, with nylon or otherbearing surfaces against which the cable may engage with a minimum offriction. Beneath the boat, the cable is terminally engaged at each sidein an eye 19 mounted on the front ski assembly, which is designatedgenerally as 20.

The forward ski, or runner, is formed with an elongated inverted angleiron 21 which provides a runner-like surface for travel upon ice. A skimember 22 of elongated sheet material is sandwiched between the invertedangle iron 21, and an elongated channel member 23, and the assembly issecured together in a conventional manner, such as welding. It may beseen that the front member will function either as a ski or as a runner,depending on surface conditions.

The forward portion of the front steering unit is appropriately,upwardly bent as indicated at 24. A pair of elongated, parallel,laterally spaced braces is provided, being welded at their forward endsto members 22, 23. Intermediate of the length of said braces, and ofsaid ski assembly, is secured a square tube, which is welded at itsrespective ends to the braces 25 and the channel member 23. A steeringpost 31 is inserted into the square tubing, and preferably welded at theupper opening of said tube for movement with said tube and with theentire ski assembly.

The steering post extends upwardly through a slide plate 32 which isallowed rotative movement beneath a cross strap 33. Said strap is weldedbeneath a frame 34 which may be secured to the bottom wall of the hull 2in any conventional manner, such as by nuts and bolts (not shown). Thesteering post 31 extends upwardly through said mounting bracket andthrough the bottom wall of the boat to receive a locking collar 35 whichmay be secured to the upper end portion of the steering post as by meansof a set screw (not shown).

At the rear end portion of the ski a second piece of square tubing iswelded at its lower end to the top of the channel 23 and at its upperend between the two braces 25. A slide plate 38 is secured to theaforesaid braces 25 and the upper end of the square tubing 37, and isafforded sliding travel beneath a cross plate 38 secured beneath therearward end of the aforesaid bracket 34. The aforesaid eyelets 19 aresecured to the walls of the tubing 37, and it will now be seen that therotation of the steering wheel will wind the cable upon the member andpull the rearward end of the ski in rotative steering travel about theaxis of the steering post 31.

PIVOTALLY MOUNTED REAR RUNNERS On either side of the vehicle, at therearward end portion thereof, is disposed a runner 40 to which rigidityis imparted by a plurality of struts 45. Said runners are secured, as bywelding, to elongated side plates 46. A suspension means is afforded byangle bars 47 which may be secured to the bottom wall of the vehiclebody in any convenient manner. A pivot means, such as a shoulder screw48, secures the runner assembly to the angle suspension means, forpivotal action about the axis of said shoulder screw. Spaced forwardlyand rearwardly from said axis are arcuate slots 49 formed in the sideplates 46 and receiving threaded studs 50. The inner end portions of thestuds are secured by nuts 52 to afford arcuate travel of said side platewithin limits prescribed by the ends of the arcuate slots 49. A nut 51may be used to resist withdrawal of the pivot element 48.

PROPULSION UNIT An outboard engine or the like 53 is mounted to a topassembly plate 54 as by screws or bolts (not shown). Said top platerigidly surmounts a frame which may be constructed by welding and isdesignated generally by reference character 55. Said frame includes anassembly plate 56 to which are secured a pair of parallel upper angleirons 57 and 60, a pair of rearwardly disposed parallel vertical angleirons 61, and a pair of horizontally disposed bottom angle irons 62. Itmay be desirable to add rigidity to the structure by the provision of across brace 63. A mount 64 may be further provided for an invertedjournal block 65, which is mounted in alignment with a second bearingblock or journalling block 66 to rotatively receive an intermediateshaft 67.

The motor may be of conventional form and commercially available, andneed not be described in detail. However, the power output shaft of themotor is provided with a pulley 68 which drives a belt 69 received on apulley 70 terminally mounted on said intermediate shaft. Inwardly of thepulley 70 is mounted an upper chain sprocket 75 upon which is carried achain 76 which also engages around a lower chain sprocket 77 mountedupon a driven shaft 78. Journal member 79 are disposed in invertedpositions beneath the bottom angle member 62 of the frame to receive theshaft 78. Appropriately disposed on the central portion of the shaft isa drive wheel 80 which may have any desired type of surface-engagingprotuberances, such as spikes, in its periphery to facilitate drivingthe vehicle in travel.

A mounting plate 81 is secured, as hereinafter explained, to the outersurface of the rear wall 5 of the boat. At the right, as seen in FIGS.2, 7, and 8, two abutted angle irons 82 and 83, and secured as bywelding to the angle iron 83, is a slideway angle iron 84. On the leftof the aforesaid FIGS. is another pair of abutting angle irons 85 and 86provided with a slideway angle iron 90 secured as by welding to theangle iron 16.

As may be most clearly seen in FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10, the angle irons 82and 85, which are secured to their respective abutting angle irons as bywelding, are themselves secured to the rear wall, or transom 5 of theboat by means of bolts 91 which pass through both the said angle irons82 and and the mounting plate 81. It is preferred to form slots 92 atthe left of the said FIGS. to facilitate placing of the bolts on theleft side, said slot being particularly well illustrated in FIG. 10. Thebolts are provided interiorly of said rear wall 5 by nuts 93 to resistwithdrawal of said bolts from said transom.

Mating, sliding angle irons 94 and 95 are appropriately spaced upon andsecured to the assembly plate 56, and, of course, appropriatelubrication is provided to afford the sliding of the rigidly spaced andmounted an e irons 94, 95 in the slideway angle irons 84 and to afford te earlier mentioned up and down sliding travel of the propulsion unit.

In the event that the propulsion unit might break through ice in anyunanticipated weak spot, it is desired to put stop elements to limit thedescent of the propulsion unit so that it would not be lost through theice. This is preferably accomplished by mounting an angle iron 96 onsaid propulsion assembly, and specifically on plate 56 and to mount acooperating angle iron 97 on the mounting plate 81 so that theprotruding flanges of the respective angle irons would engage in theevent the propulsion unit should drop farther than is normallydesirable.

From the foregoing, it may be seen that the propulsion unit, upon thedrive wheel encountering surface irregularities may slide in up and downtravel, thus averting reaction of the entire vehicle to suchirregularities. Further reaction is avoided by the pivotal mounting ofthe rear runners.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a vehicle body having a front end portion and arear end portion, of means secured to said body to elevate said body fortravel over a surface, including a pair of laterally spaced runners atthe rearward end portion of said vehicle, and

means mounting said runners for limited rocking travel about an axissubstantially parallel to the surface traveled upon during vehicletravel, and transverse to the direction of vehicle travel, and means toestablish limits to said rocking travel,

a first mounting means secured to the rear portion of the vehicle bodyto receive a propulsion unit, said unit including, a power source, asurface engaging drive wheel,

means transmitting a drive from the power source to the drive wheel,

and a second mounting means carried by said drive assembly andengageable with said first mounting means to mount said propulsion unitupon said vehicle body.

2. In a combination as set forth in claim 1, said means elevating saidbody further including a front support disposed at the forward endportion of the vehicle body, and pivot means pivotally securing saidfront support to the body for movement about the axis of said pivot tosteer the vehicle in travel.

1. The combination with a vehicle body having a front end portion and arear end portion, of means secured to said body to elevate said body fortravel over a surface, including a pair of laterally spaced runners atthe rearward end portion of said vehicle, and means mounting saidrunners for limited rocking travel about an axis substantially parallelto the surface traveled upon during vehicle travel, and transverse tothe direction of vehicle travel, and means to establish limits to saidrocking travel, a first mounting means secured to the rear portion ofthe vehicle body to receive a propulsion unit, said unit including, apower source, a surface engaging drive wheel, means transmitting a drivefrom the power source to the drive wheel, and a second mounting meanscarried by said drive assembly and engageable with said first mountingmeans to mount said propulsion unit upon said vehicle body.
 2. In acombination as set forth in claim 1, said means elevating said bodyfurther including a front support disposed at the forward end portion ofthe vehicle body, and pivot means pivotally securing said front supportto the body for movement about the axis of said pivot to steer thevehicle in travel.